Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] conductors
Alan & Brenda Leonard
2/5/03 17:50:
you have to have at least a core group that works together regularly and has
a vision for the group sound (I know that sounds wrong, but it's the words
we use...). You can't just get 20 people together and fight it out in a
week. It takes time.
Anything much more than 20 needs a decent or better conductor. I've been in
orchestras of 100 that would have played better without the conductor they
had, though.
My favorite conductor story is from college; I was sitting in a rehearsal
with a man named Charles Zachery Bornstein, who as a child met Bernstein,
and was fond of telling us the story over and over, and pointing out that
his name was only ONE letter different than the master's. Similarities
stopped there, as far as I was concerned! <g>
At any rate, ol' Chuck (as we referred to him) was on his podium whining
again, "You're not LOOKING at the CONDUCTOR. I don't know WHY I'm even
HERE." And my roommate, from the other side of the orchestra, announced,
"Neither do we." Nobody could stop laughing!
brenda
> Ok, y'all---many of you musicians: How do y'all feel about this--especiallyAnything under 20 can easily live without a conductor, in my book. However,
> as UNschoolers? Do you prefer conductors? Can they make a difference to you?
> Or does it feel like meddling in what YOU know?
you have to have at least a core group that works together regularly and has
a vision for the group sound (I know that sounds wrong, but it's the words
we use...). You can't just get 20 people together and fight it out in a
week. It takes time.
Anything much more than 20 needs a decent or better conductor. I've been in
orchestras of 100 that would have played better without the conductor they
had, though.
My favorite conductor story is from college; I was sitting in a rehearsal
with a man named Charles Zachery Bornstein, who as a child met Bernstein,
and was fond of telling us the story over and over, and pointing out that
his name was only ONE letter different than the master's. Similarities
stopped there, as far as I was concerned! <g>
At any rate, ol' Chuck (as we referred to him) was on his podium whining
again, "You're not LOOKING at the CONDUCTOR. I don't know WHY I'm even
HERE." And my roommate, from the other side of the orchestra, announced,
"Neither do we." Nobody could stop laughing!
brenda
[email protected]
In a message dated 2/5/03 6:25:42 AM, kbcdlovejo@... writes:
<< I can't figure out WHAT a conductor really DOES! <G> I figure that if
everyone KNOWS his part, that this guy just HAS to be superfluous! <BWG> But
I enjoy watching him.
they're all following one person. Same with madrigals singers. They
practice together a lot, and in a performance they are, to some extent,
"singing along" with the lead singer. You usually can't tell from looking
unless just as they start three are looking at one of them.
But with an orchestra they're not working from memory and they're not
looking around much. Also with small-group music, each person can see the
other people's parts. They're singing or playing one of three or four or
five parts, but they can see what the other people are doing. So if they
come in right after a certain run or section, they see on the paper that the
other people have finished; they hear it while they see it, and they come in.
For an orchestra, only the conductor has the music that shows all the parts
(the score). The others have individual sheets with JUST their own parts on.
If they're resting for a long time (others are playing and they're not)
their music probably just shows a black square with a number on the top. And
sometimes that's a big number. If your music says you don't do anything for
another 124 measures, it's good to have someone to 'cue you' when it's nearly
your turn to come in and to point at you just as you're in.
It's more than that, that conductors do, but in simplest practical terms,
that's part of it.
Sandra
<< I can't figure out WHAT a conductor really DOES! <G> I figure that if
everyone KNOWS his part, that this guy just HAS to be superfluous! <BWG> But
I enjoy watching him.
>>With small groups, like a quartet, they don't need a conductor because
they're all following one person. Same with madrigals singers. They
practice together a lot, and in a performance they are, to some extent,
"singing along" with the lead singer. You usually can't tell from looking
unless just as they start three are looking at one of them.
But with an orchestra they're not working from memory and they're not
looking around much. Also with small-group music, each person can see the
other people's parts. They're singing or playing one of three or four or
five parts, but they can see what the other people are doing. So if they
come in right after a certain run or section, they see on the paper that the
other people have finished; they hear it while they see it, and they come in.
For an orchestra, only the conductor has the music that shows all the parts
(the score). The others have individual sheets with JUST their own parts on.
If they're resting for a long time (others are playing and they're not)
their music probably just shows a black square with a number on the top. And
sometimes that's a big number. If your music says you don't do anything for
another 124 measures, it's good to have someone to 'cue you' when it's nearly
your turn to come in and to point at you just as you're in.
It's more than that, that conductors do, but in simplest practical terms,
that's part of it.
Sandra